Björn Isebaert

Hi!

I'm driving my father's old Audi 80 from '89 (it's a Diesel with now
ca.460.000kms, but never had any problems).

Now, I have a problem and I hope someone will be able to suggest what the
cause could be:

When I start driving, there's no problem; but after some kms, the car starts
to make a shrieking sound when I turn to the left. the sound is clearly
coming from the left side at the front. But the more I drive, the louder the
sound gets, and in the end, the sound even occurs when I drive straight. But
no such sound when turning right. The problem is most obvious when I have to
make small steering adjusments to the left; the noise becomes so loud that I
get weird stares from people in the streets ... But another strange thing:
when I press the brakes a little, the noise is gone ... As soon as I release
the brake, the noise is back.

We've checked the brake blocks, but they're still in good condition.

Anyway, I think the sound is caused by something that expands or swells,
since it only occurs after I have been driving some time; now that the
temperatures are lower, it takes longer for the noise to occur; during
summer, with temperatures of 32°C or higher, the noise occurred much
earlier.

Does anyone have a suggestion about the cause of this noise? I don't know
that much about mechanics, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance!

Björn Isebaert
Belgium

C.R. Krieger

"Björn Isebaert" <Bjrn.Isebaert@skynet.be> wrote in message news:<3f603274$0$9543$ba620e4c@reader1.news.skynet .be>...
>
> I'm driving my father's old Audi 80 from '89 (it's a Diesel with now
> ca.460.000kms, but never had any problems).
>
> When I start driving, there's no problem; but after some kms, the car starts
> to make a shrieking sound when I turn to the left.
>
> We've checked the brake blocks, but they're still in good condition.

Is it a metallic screech? IME, Audi's brake backing plates (inner
covers for the brake) are placed very close to the rotors.
Occasionally, they can get bumped or bent somehow and they'll touch
the rotor under certain conditions (like turning left, in your case).
Reach behind the wheel, grab the backing plate, and move it around a
bit (they're very thin and bend easily). If that changes the sound
(making it either worse, very different, or completely disappearing),
that's the problem. Aside from the embarassment it might cause, it's
almost totally harmless and you can safely ignore it. You can also
keep messing with it until you get it bent just right so it's quiet
again.
--
C.R. Krieger
(Been there; done that)

TonyJ

Wheel brearing is bad.

Tony
'91 100Q 5spd

Björn Isebaert wrote:

> Hi!
>
> I'm driving my father's old Audi 80 from '89 (it's a Diesel with now
> ca.460.000kms, but never had any problems).
>
> Now, I have a problem and I hope someone will be able to suggest what the
> cause could be:
>
> When I start driving, there's no problem; but after some kms, the car starts
> to make a shrieking sound when I turn to the left. the sound is clearly
> coming from the left side at the front. But the more I drive, the louder the
> sound gets, and in the end, the sound even occurs when I drive straight. But
> no such sound when turning right. The problem is most obvious when I have to
> make small steering adjusments to the left; the noise becomes so loud that I
> get weird stares from people in the streets ... But another strange thing:
> when I press the brakes a little, the noise is gone ... As soon as I release
> the brake, the noise is back.
>
> We've checked the brake blocks, but they're still in good condition.
>
> Anyway, I think the sound is caused by something that expands or swells,
> since it only occurs after I have been driving some time; now that the
> temperatures are lower, it takes longer for the noise to occur; during
> summer, with temperatures of 32°C or higher, the noise occurred much
> earlier.
>
> Does anyone have a suggestion about the cause of this noise? I don't know
> that much about mechanics, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Many thanks in advance!
>
> Björn Isebaert
> Belgium
>
>

Björn Isebaert

Thanks for the suggestions; this weekend, I'll ask a friend of mine to come
over; he knows a little more about cars than me, and we'll check all your
suggestions first!

Many thanks!!!

Björn